Different
by shimmeryshine
Summary: Post 5.03, Luke and Lorelai are together at long last, and this time it's finally different.


Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or its characters.

A/N: This takes place post 5.03 the afternoon after Lorelai slept at Luke's. Please tell me what you think!

A/N2: There was a questionable piece of dialogue brought to my attention that closely resembled dialogue from another fanfiction, so I have changed that piece, as I did not intend to use anyone else's thoughts or words as my own. It was a complete accident. Thank you to the person who pointed it out to me.

**Different**

Lorelai's heels clicked loudly on the cement as she walked quickly toward the diner; she needed coffee and she needed it now. Her hand clasped firmly around the brass handle and she pushed her way into the noisy dinner crowd, looking everywhere for an opening to make her way to the counter. She spotted one to her right and squeezed her way quickly through the mass of hungry people, skipping the stools, and making her way directly behind the counter. The first thing she reached for was an extra large coffee mug, and then the steaming pot of caffeinated goodness she knew was right behind her. But her hand came up short, not coming into contact with anything resembling a coffee pot. "Where's the coffee?" she muttered under her breath. Her eyes scanned around the room and she finally spotted it on the counter on the other side of the cash register. Making a mad dash before anyone else could snatch it, Lorelai grabbed for the pot and was surprised when a large hand grabbed hold of her wrist stopping her just before she reached it. The little jolt of electricity that shot through her at the slight touch told her exactly who was grabbing her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Lorelai sighed, wasn't it obvious? "I need coffee."

"Why don't you wait in line like everybody else?"

She sighed again, tearing her eyes from the pot of coffee, "I'm not like everybody else, Luke. You should know that by now." She waggled her eyebrows slightly. He blushed. Caesar walked in front of them at that exact moment and snatched up the coffee pot, making his way over to the tables waiting impatiently for their refills. Lorelai practically jumped out of Luke's grasp, "Wait!"

Luke held her back, "I've got coffee upstairs, you can have the whole pot."

Lorelai stopped struggling, and gasped slightly. "I thought you didn't keep coffee up there! Or did you just tell me that this morning so you could watch me get out of bed?"

Luke feigned innocence, "I keep some up there now, for emergency situations."

"Ahh," Lorelai said knowingly. "So you're going to let me have the whole pot, just like that?"

Luke tugged lightly on her wrist, leading her toward the staircase. "Well, maybe you'll have to trade me something for it."

Lorelai grinned, but he couldn't see her face. "Like what kind of trade? I've got a mint, a penny, and a piece of cheese."

"A piece of cheese? Why do you have a piece of cheese in your purse?"

"Hey, don't knock the cheese, you never know when you might get stranded and are starving for food. Then you'd wish you put an extra piece of cheese in your purse so you don't die of starvation. Not that you carry a purse or anything, but you know what I mean."

Luke rolled his eyes, "I think I'll pass on the cheese." They reached the door to Luke's apartment and he opened it, leading them both inside. Lorelai kicked the door shut with her foot, and finally let go of Luke's hand to walk into the kitchen. She spotted the coffee pot on the counter and headed straight for it, not noticing Luke sidestepping to block her way.

"Hey," she pouted as she bumped into his chest. "You said I could have this coffee!"

"You're forgetting one thing."

"Ah, the trade." Lorelai put her purse down on the table and turned back to face Luke. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him down so their cheeks were touching. "What do you want?" she whispered into his ear. Luke shivered noticeably at Lorelai's sudden change in tone and he too snaked an arm around her waist, leaving minimal space in between them.

"A kiss," he whispered back.

Lorelai smiled against his stubble, 'coffee and a kiss,' she thought, 'my lucky day.' She stepped back a little, so they were now face to face, and she leaned up onto her tippy toes bringing her lips a breath away from his. "Just a kiss?" she asked innocently. He nodded slightly, and she moved in, pressing her mouth to his. A tingle started running throughout her entire body the second their lips touched, and she had to fight not to moan out loud. Just a kiss? Yeah right, they could never 'just kiss' anymore. They both opened their mouths at the same moment, and all thoughts of coffee were long gone when Lorelai jumped up to straddle Luke's waist. They both hissed as the contact between them suddenly became much more intimate, but neither of them could tear their mouth away from the other.

Luke opened his eyes for a second, looking for a place to lean them, it was becoming very hard to stand in the middle of the kitchen holding her and kissing her without falling over. The first thing he spotted was the fridge, so he took two giant steps in that general direction and ended up slamming Lorelai's back into the fridge door a little harder than he had anticipated. She grunted slightly, and the fridge tottered dangerously, but she didn't stop kissing him. Luke's hands started playing at the hem of her shirt, and after a second of nervousness on Luke's part, he slid them over her firm stomach, feeling her tremble slightly beneath his touch.

Lorelai took some initiative of her own at that point and started hastily pulling at the buttons of Luke's flannel shirt, trying to get it off as quickly as possible. She managed to get most of the buttons undone, but got frustrated and just ripped the last couple off so she could push his shirt down. "Did you...ahh...have to break my shirt?" He asked in between kisses.

"Sorry...didn't mean to." Lorelai was having problems forming complete sentences at that point.

Luke couldn't really care less, as long as he was getting closer to being skin to skin he didn't care what clothes had to be ruined in the process. It's not like he didn't have enough flannel shirts anyway...although the blue one Lorelai had been wearing that morning had mysteriously disappeared. Lorelai nipped at his bottom lip and all coherent thought once again fled his brain, and his hands began moving again, but this time toward the button on her jeans. Just as he slipped a finger under the waistband, a shrill beep started up coming from behind them.

Lorelai groaned loudly, and pulled back slightly. Luke started kissing down her neck, and she closed her eyes for a second, loving the feeling of the open mouthed kisses he was gently placing everywhere he could reach. The beep sounded again. "What the hell is that?" Luke asked from the crook of her neck. She could feel his words vibrate through her and she shivered slightly.

"It's my cell phone."

"I told you those things were no good. Can you ignore it?"

"I could, but what if it's Rory?"

Luke groaned and placed one last kiss on her neck, then one more on her mouth and released her. She slid slowly down the fridge and took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'll just be a second." Luke nodded and adjusted his baseball cap, watching her rummage around in her messy purse. She finally found the small phone and flipped it open. "Yeah?" she said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Lorelai it's your mother, where are you?"

"Mom?" Lorelai looked over to Luke who had just raised his eyebrows at the sound of Emily Gilmore's name. Lorelai put her hand up to her forehead, remembering too late to check her caller ID. "What do you mean where am I? I'm in Stars Hollow, where I live."

"Lorelai, I know where you live. I'm not that out of touch with your life. I mean where are you right now? It's six o'clock at night and you aren't at home."

"How do you know I'm not at home mom?" Lorelai was looking at the floor, kicking at a piece of plastic. She could hear Luke breathing heavily beside her, but she didn't dare look at him. Turns out she didn't have to, he came over to her all on his own, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing the back of her neck. She breathed in deeply, trying to stay calm and figure out what the hell her mother was talking about.

"I know you're not at home because I'm standing on you're porch ringing the doorbell and no one is answering!"

"You're at my house right now?"

"Yes, I thought I made that perfectly clear." Luke's hand slipped back under her shirt again, and he moved over to kiss the other side of her neck and started nibbling it gently. Lorelai groaned slightly and covered her mouth with her hand once she realized she had just done that out loud. "Lorelai are you alright?"

Lorelai waved her hands in front of her face, trying to think of a reason she would be moaning, "Yeah, I uh...just stubbed my toe." Luke chuckled behind her and started rubbing circles around her belly button. She bit her bottom lip, determined not to give her mother any clues as to what she was actually doing at the moment.

"Stubbed your toe? Where are you Lorelai?"

"I'm eating at Luke's mom. I uh...stubbed my toe on the side of a stool." Luke laughed again and Lorelai slapped his hand lightly.

"Well, don't leave then. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"You're coming here? Why?"

"Because I came to see you Lorelai, and talk to you about a change in plans this Friday for dinner."

"You couldn't do that over the phone?"

"I had some extra time, so I came down myself."

"Okay mom. I guess I'll see you in a few minutes then. Bye."

"Bye Lorelai."

Lorelai flipped her phone shut and threw it back into her purse and spun herself around in Luke's arms. "You know, that wasn't very nice!"

"What do you mean?" he asked with a lopsided smile.

"You know what I mean! Don't play innocent with me."

"Hey, it's not my fault you stubbed your toe..."

Lorelai slapped him playfully on the arm, "I will get you back for this, you know that right?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

"I bet you are." Lorelai stepped back out of his reach and ran a hand through her hair, trying to pat it back down. "You better find your shirt; you can't go back down there like that."

Luke sighed and grabbed his shirt off the floor where it had fallen, along with the three buttons Lorelai had broken. "I think I need a new one, you broke this one."

"Hey, I can't be held responsible for what I do when you're kissing me like that." Lorelai's smile broadened on her face, she couldn't stop grinning, and neither could Luke.

"So does that rule go both ways? Because I could save us both a lot of time next time and just rip your clothes off." Luke made his way to his dresser and pulled out another flannel shirt, this one gray, and slipped it on.

"Um, no I don't think so. If you rip my new top I'll have to kill you."

"Oh so it's okay for you to rip my shirts, but I can't rip yours?"

"Luke, you have enough flannel shirts in your wardrobe to cloth an entire country of farm people."

"Farm people?"

"Yeah, you know. Farm people wear flannel and overalls and stuff."

"Oh, I see. So these 'farm people' wouldn't wear your clothes?"

"Obviously not, Luke. I mean come on, who would want to get a cool shirt like this all dirty with farm things?"

Luke put his arms up in surrender, "You win."

"Aww, really? Thanks babe!" She leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the lips, and grabbed his hand to lead him out the door. They walked down the steps hand in hand, whispering softly to each other, completely oblivious as to who was watching them from the diner below. Lorelai spotted Emily's face first and froze, not sure of what to do. Luke gave her hand a little squeeze and pulled her the rest of the way into the diner. Emily was watching every move they made with a face rapt with curiosity. Lorelai gulped and smiled, "Hey mom," maybe she won't say anything?

"Hello Lorelai," she turned her eyes to Luke then, "Luke." She was now sporting a very smug smile, one that Lorelai knew well. She wore it every time she was right about something, and now she was seeing first had that Luke definitely had a thing for Lorelai, and that Lorelai was obviously returning the sentiment.

"You wanted to talk mom? Let's sit down." Lorelai turned back to Luke for a second and he smiled at her, giving her a little boost of confidence. She found that she couldn't feel bad about anything when he was standing there beside her, supporting her.

"Do you guys want some coffee?" Lorelai just realized for the first time that she hadn't even gotten the cup she had come to the diner for in the first place.

She nodded vigorously, "I would love some coffee. Mom?"

"I'll have a cup too please." Luke nodded and headed back behind the counter to get their drinks.

Lorelai motioned toward a nearby table and sat down. "So what is this about a change in plans for Friday's dinner?"

"Well, a few of my friends from out of state are going to be in town and I was going to invite them all to dinner with us, kind of like a small dinner party."

"Oh, that's nice." Lorelai said distractedly, she really needed coffee all of a sudden. Aware as ever of her needs, Luke appeared a second later with two steaming cups of coffee, and set them down in front of the girls.

"Can I get you guys anything else?" He was speaking to the both of them, but his eyes were only on Lorelai.

Lorelai looked to Emily, who shook her head, "No thanks, we're good for now."

"Are you sure? The pie just came out of the oven."

Lorelai perked up immediately, "Pie? Is it that chocolate cream kind?"

Luke laughed, "Yup."

"Ooh, yeah I'll have a piece of that then." Emily had a funny look on her face, "You want some to mom? Luke makes the best pie."

"No, thank you, I'm not hungry." Luke walked away to get Lorelai's pie for her. Emily started again, "Why don't you invite Luke to come to dinner on Friday?"

Lorelai snorted into her coffee, "What?"

"Well I'm having friends over, so why don't you bring him?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea mom."

"Why not? You are obviously involved with him in some way, and I'd like to get to know him a little better. Besides you'll be dreadfully bored around my friends and maybe he'll keep you from making all those strange jokes you seem to love telling around company."

Ah, every sentence has to have some kind of insult attached. 'It wouldn't be so bad for him to go though, would it?' she thought to herself. He would definitely keep her company, and her mom had already met him, so there wouldn't really be any huge first meeting pressure. What the hell. "Okay mom, sure. I'll ask him." Luke came back just then and put a big slice of pie down in front of her. "Hey, Luke. Do you want to join me for dinner at my parent's on Friday night? They are having a few guests over anyway, so the more the merrier I guess!" Emily rolled her eyes.

"Yeah sure, I'd love to go."

"Great, we're glad to have you," Emily interjected. "Well, I must be going. I've got details to attend to. I'll see you both Friday then." With that she got up and walked out the door, a secret smile hidden on her face. This night had been much more interesting than she had anticipated, and she was looking forward to seeing just what kind of guy Luke actually was.

Friday Night

Lorelai stood outside the Gilmore mansion clutching Luke's hand tightly. Rory had been swamped with homework and hadn't been able to make it to dinner, so she was on her own with Luke tonight. Just the two of them against the world, or at least against the snobby side of Connecticut's population.

"Are you going to ring the bell?"

"Um, yes. I just like to get myself together before going in there. Think a few happy thoughts so they can't suck all the life out of me in one sitting."

Luke chuckled, "It can't be that bad."

"Oh you have no idea."

"Well, I'm here with you tonight, and I swear I won't let anyone suck anything out of you at all."

"Dirty!"

"That was too easy."

"Yeah, but I can never resist."

"You ready yet?"

Lorelai took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. The door swung open immediately and an unfamiliar maid ushered them into the front hall. They could both hear talking and music coming from inside the house and as they both hung their coats on the stand, they shared an encouraging look. "We can do this. No problem. Right?"

"Right," Luke said as he took her hand in his again. "Come on." They both walked on until they found the rest of the guests, and Emily rushed over to them as soon as they were spotted.

"Hello Lorelai. Glad you could make it Luke."

"Um, sure. Thanks for inviting me."

"My pleasure, come on in. Have some drinks and mingle, dinner's in a half hour."

"Okay, thanks mom." Emily turned and went back to her group of waiting friends. "Wow, she is certainly being civil tonight."

"See, I told you this wouldn't be so bad." Lorelai nodded, still not quite trusting her good fortune. "Do you want a drink?"

"Yeah, sure." Luke grabbed them some wine and returned a minute later to find Lorelai talking to an older woman. "Oh really?" she was saying, "I never quite thought of them like that." The second she spotted Luke, Lorelai gave a relieved sigh. "Oh I'm sorry, here's my date, and I really must be going."

"Okay dear, it was nice talking to you."

"You too." Lorelai made a dash for Luke.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh God, Luke. She was telling me how she isn't married because she thinks her cat is her soul mate. She said that every time she brings a guy home she feels guilty and then the cat scratches her date up! So she stopped dating because she doesn't want to 'cheat' on her cat!"

"Your mother has the strangest friends." Lorelai nodded and took a long sip of her wine. The maid came out of the kitchen then, and they all followed her back to the table to start dinner.

An hour and a half later

Everyone piled out of the dining room very full, and a few slightly drunk. They all headed out to the back terrace for some coffee and some fresh air. Lorelai grabbed Luke's arm and pulled him back from the moving crowd. "Hey, do you want to skip the coffee and walk around for a little bit?"

"You want to skip the coffee?"

She smiled, "Don't get used to it; this is a one time thing."

"Okay, do you think they'll miss us?"

"Nah, they are all a little tipsy and too involved in talking about whatever the hell they were talking about back there."

"Yeah okay. So where do you want to walk?"

"Do you want to see my old bedroom?"

"Actually yeah I do. I'm very curious to see where the 16 year old Lorelai lived."

"Well, don't be too surprised if it's nothing like the person you now know."

Luke shrugged, "Well, I still want to see it."

"Right this way," Lorelai grabbed his hand and led him up the nearest staircase. They walked hand in hand until they finally reached a bedroom door that was slightly ajar. "Here it is," she said as she pushed the door open all the way.

"Wow," was all Luke could say as he looked around at the pink walls, the dollhouses, and the ruffled bedspread. "This is definitely not how I imagined it."

"You've imagined my bedroom?"

Luke blushed slightly. "Well, I have thought about where you used to live when you had Rory."

Lorelai nodded, "How did you imagine it?" She pulled him again until they both plopped down on the bed. They both scooted up until their heads found the pillows, and Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's chest, bringing her head to rest on his upper arm.

"Well," he started as he gently stroked a path up and down her forearm, "for starters I thought it would have tons of crazy music posters all over the walls." Lorelai giggled. "And I thought it would be very messy and cluttered."

Lorelai yawned, "Messy? Me?"

"I wonder why I imagined that?"

"Go on, what else did you imagine?" She yawned again, but bigger this time.

"Well, I always tried to think of what it must have been like for you when Rory was just a little baby."

"Hmmm." Lorelai's eyes started drooping.

"I can picture you so clearly with a tiny baby in your arms, dressing her up in clothes just like yours, and dancing around the room with her to your favorite music. Lorelai?" She didn't make a peep. Luke moved his head slightly and saw that her eyes were closed, and she had a small, peaceful smile on her face. She was sleeping. He laid his head back on the pillow and continued talking, only in a very low whisper this time. "I can picture you with another baby too," he said softly. "I love you Lorelai," he said so softly he could hardly hear himself. Sighing contentedly, Lorelai subconsciously snuggled into his side a little tighter, and Luke closed his eyes for a second, just basking in the feel of her lying next to him. A few seconds turned into minutes until Luke too was sleeping soundly, with Lorelai wrapped up in his arms.

Down below at the party, Emily had become aware that Luke and Lorelai were nowhere to be found. 'I should have figured,' she thought to herself. She knew how Lorelai was with men, she was always flippant and all about the physical, never stopping to take anything seriously. Emily couldn't believe that Lorelai had snuck off like some teenager to do God knows what with her new boyfriend in her house! Emily had thought that this one was different, that Luke was different, but now she knew that she had been wrong again. It was never different with Lorelai, never. She didn't know why she had let herself believe for a second that Lorelai had changed, and now she had to go track her down like she was 16 again so she didn't embarrass her at her own dinner party.

The first place Emily thought to look was Lorelai's old bedroom, and she was pleased with herself when she saw that the door was perched open slightly more than it usually was. Preparing herself for an eyeful, Emily poked her head in quickly and was completely dumfounded as to what she saw. It wasn't Lorelai being irresponsible with her new boyfriend, it was Lorelai and Luke curled up in bed sound asleep. Out of all the men she had caught Lorelai with over the years, she had never, not once, found her just sleeping peacefully with one. Emily took notice of Luke's arms wrapped protectively around her waist, and Lorelai's arms wrapped loosely around his chest, and most of all she noticed the twin looks of contentment on both of their faces as they slept. This was different, she suddenly thought to herself. So very different that a single tear of joy slipped down her cheek as she silently pulled the door shut in front of her. Lorelai had finally found it, and this time Emily knew without a shadow of a doubt, it was right.


End file.
